Celebrating the end of one year and the beginning of a new one has become synonymous with establishing resolutions for the 12 months ahead. Marking the new year with a list of goals—whether lofty or simple—is a chance to improve upon the year prior.

The practice requires a bit of introspection to identify the areas of life that weren't quite up to snuff and a commitment to making changes. Either way, resolutions aren't for the faint of heart, as the follow-through might be the hardest part of the whole process. In fact, a mere 8% of people achieve the goals they set for themselves on New Year's Eve, according to research out of the University of Scranton.

As physical therapists, we acknowledge that we can do better, too. Whether it's spending more time with our families, adhering to a more consistent sleep schedule, or learning a new sport, we scratch out the same lists everyone does at this time of the year. But on a professional front, we've added a new goal for 2017: attaching a better definition to the term "physical therapist."

Chances are you know someone who recently had physical therapy, or maybe you even went yourself. But we are willing to bet you'd have trouble coming up with a quick way to define the service. We're here to help! By background and training, physical therapists are movement specialists. Simple, right? We specialize in movement.

We spend our days helping those who are having trouble moving due to a variety of causes. We diagnose, evaluate, educate, treat, and prevent depending on the individual case. We handily teach patients how to prevent or manage their conditions in order to achieve long-term health benefits. Most of all, physical therapists help patients return to the activities they once enjoyed: time with family, school, work, and physical activities. Much of the work in physical therapy involves setting goals for patients to reach. We develop plans to reduce pain, promote movement, and restore function and we help you meet those goals one step at a time. Let's work together to reach our goals in 2017, and keep each other on track!

Try These Five Healthy Habits for the New Year

Drink water instead of Soda or Sugary Drinks

Fill up on Protein and Veggies first

Exercise as much as you watch TV

Be Positive about Food

Don't Sweat the Small Stuff

PT Give Away: We will be doing a drawing for 3 FREE Personal Training Sessions with Certified Personal Trainer Cris Edmonds. Do the following to gain entries:

Like our Facebook Page

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Refer a friend for Personal Training or Physical Therapy

Lucas Therapies is committed to helping you reach your 2017 goals by providing a variety of wellness services, from Personal Training to diet and nutrition advice.Contact us at 540.772.8022 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to set-up your free assessment.

Physical therapy may do more than treat the aches and pains related to work-related orthopedic injuries, studies show it can help improve patients’ moods, too. Research has uncovered a link between pain and depression, suggesting that more than one-third of individuals with chronic back or neck pain also exhibit signs of depression.

Numerous studies conducted during the last 30 years have indicated that exercise can improve mood and mindset, even helping to peel back layers of depression. More recent research, including an article published in the Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy, suggests that feelings and thoughts of depression may subside with the introduction of physical therapy for back and neck pain.

Affecting more than 15 million Americans, clinical depression is one of the most common mental health conditions weighing on our country’s resources. Depression is more than the occasional bout of sadness; it interferes with normal functioning and daily life. Depression can occur alongside other medical conditions such as diabetes or Parkinson’s disease, but can also occur because of a major life event such as a work-related injury or a death in the family. Experts now understand that medical conditions can enhance the symptoms of depression, and vice versa.

In the Wideman et al study, 40% of the patients studied exhibited decreased feelings and thoughts of depression following physical therapy treatment to address pain and functional limitations from a work-related orthopedic injury. One year after treatment, those showing signs of improvement on the depression front were more likely to have returned to work and to report less pain intensity. Conversely, the individuals who did not exhibit improvements in depressed feelings were less likely to have returned to work.

Lucas Therapies is committed to using exercise to aide not only physical issues, but mental issues as well.

Proper identification of people exhibiting the signs and symptoms of depression can improve their chances for success in physical therapy. To give patients the best chance to succeed in treatment, physical therapists can often identify signs of depression based on screening tests and patient evaluations. Symptoms of depression may improve for patients receiving treatment designed to decrease pain and improve function, but others may require specialized treatment for depression symptoms in addition to physical therapy. A physical therapist may refer patients with unresolved symptoms of depression to another healthcare provider for appropriate management and treatment.

Roanoke, 2016 – Within weeks of belting out the final stanza of “Auld Lang Syne,” a large segment of those resolving to exercise more in the New Year will be on the sidelines. The cause? A variety of injuries and conditions ranging from stress fractures and twisted ankles to the biggest culprit of all, low back pain.

A Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factors study recently cited low back pain as the single leading cause of disability worldwide. Estimates indicate that 80% of us contend with the common ailment at some point in our lives. The intense and debilitating pain that accompanies low back injuries often prevents sufferers from going to work, participating in household chores and enjoying time with loved ones.

Low back pain doesn’t have to be a prescription for couch surfing. Current studies show no evidence that supervised physical activity increases the risk of additional back problems or work disability. Counter to the age-old recommendation of inactivity, a customized exercise program under the direction of a physical therapist is widely prescribed to reduce pain and disability.

At Lucas Therapies, we have physical therapists’ and personal trainers that are highly skilled at using exercise to reduce back pain.

Although back pain can affect anyone, the major risk factors include age, poor physical fitness, genetics, being overweight, and smoking. The National Institutes of Health suggests the following to prevent back pain:

Exercise frequently and keep your back muscles strong.

Maintain a healthy weight.

Eat a balanced diet, including daily recommendations for calcium and vitamin D.

Focus on body mechanics by standing up straight and lifting heavy objects with bent legs and a straight back.

Per the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, low back pain sufferers should prioritize a supervised exercise program and a gradual return to everyday activities to restore back strength. Following an evaluation, physical therapists can recommend specific exercises to prevent and treat back pain, and provide additional treatment options to address pain and restore mobility.

Roanoke, 2016 – A quick change in direction on the soccer field or a shaky landing following an explosive jump on the basketball court can spell trouble for the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). Each year, the United States sees anywhere from 80,000 to 250,000 ACL injuries, resulting in about 100,000 ACL reconstructions, according to the Journal of Orthopedic and Sports Physical Therapy. Moreover, statistics show the prevalence of ACL injuries has surged in recent years alongside a spike in youth sports participation.

With a reported 36 million kids (aged 5 to 18 years) playing organized sports each year, the chances of an athlete tearing her ACL are good. The populations most at risk are young female athletes—who sustain ACL injuries nearly 10 times more often than males—and young athletes who specialize in a single sport at an early age. To avoid the physical, emotional and economic toll of such an injury, athletes are beginning to embrace preventive programs.

Many think of physical therapists when it comes to treating ACL injuries, but the latest research shows a need for the rehab professionals to play an even bigger role in prevention. An American Journal of Sports Medicine study concluded that incidents of ACL injury drop by about 50% at the hands of neuromuscular and educational interventions led by physical therapists.

At Lucas Therapies we take sports just as serious as you do, which is why we have the region’s only therapist to complete a post-professional Sports Physical Therapy Residency program.

Contrary to popular belief, three-quarters of all ACL tears are non-contact injuries, occurring when an athlete cuts, decelerates or jumps. Sports including basketball, soccer, volleyball and football, and activities that involve jumping and landing, open field running and cutting or deceleration moves put athletes at a higher risk of ACL injury. Why are these routine moves so harmful? The biggest culprit is often muscle imbalance.

Physical therapists, particularly those who specialize in sports medicine, are trained to develop an individually tailored program based on an assessment of the athlete’s functional deficits in motion, strength and control. The program might address strength, flexibility and coordination, and correct existing movement patterns that may be damaging to joints.

It’s important to remember that regular neuromusculoskeletal evaluations with a physical therapist can help identify impairments, and reduce the risk of ACL and other injuries. And, there’s a lot at stake: post-operative rehabilitation will set an athlete back nine months on average, delay her return to sport, and in some cases, prevent a return to prior intensity and skill level.

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Physical Therapists Implore You to Break Your Sitting Addiction

Roanoke, 2016 -- We’re rapidly transforming into an out-of-shape nation. Most Americans spend the bulk of their days driving a car, working on a computer, eating meals and watching TV. What’s the common thread in all of these activities? Sitting.

May is National Physical Fitness and Sports Month and physical therapists want you to celebrate by putting down your smart phones, getting off your derrieres and making a commitment to your health. With the advent of wearable devices to track fitness levels and so many other resources to safely add more activity into our lives, there really isn’t any excuse to falling victim to a sedentary lifestyle.

Statistics show Americans spend an average of 11 hours a day sitting on their rumps. That’s an alarming amount of time considering sitting for as little as two continuous hours has been shown to increase the risk of heart disease, diabetes, obesity, metabolic syndrome, cancer, and numerous orthopedic problems.

Physical therapists, trained to identify asymmetries, movement compensation, and risk for potential injury, are an often overlooked weapon in the battle to spend more time vertical. A sedentary person’s capacity for exercise is an important consideration, one that can be addressed through endurance tests such as the six-minute walk test and three-minute step test. With this knowledge, a PT can create a plan of care to reduce pain, teach healthy postures and movements, and increase activity level.

Lucas Therapies offers a wide variety of wellness services designed to help keep you active!

Increased activity levels can lead to a healthier and happier lifestyle as well as a longer life, according to an article published in The Journal of the American Medical Association. In a study of the six-minute walk test, study investigators draw a stunning correlation between walking speed and life expectancy.

Many think of physical therapy services when an impairment or injury pops up, however, PTs can be a real asset to those trying to become more active. Despite attempts to educate people on proper movement and nutrition, our society is more overweight and obese than ever and a staggering number of people are suffering from pain and injury. But let’s not settle for that! Make May your month to get moving.

Roanoke, 2016 – Prescription opioid headlines are staggering: 40 Americans die each day from overdoses involving prescription opioids; they cost the United States economy $78.5 billion a year; and 227 million opioid prescriptions were handed out in the U.S. in 2015.

In response to the millions of Americans living with chronic pain and seeking relief, the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) rolled out its #ChoosePT Campaign with a clear message: opioids only mask pain, physical therapists treat pain through movement and exercise. In concert with the APTA, members of the organization’s Private Practice Section are stepping up efforts to educate the public about physical therapy as a safe, nondrug alternative to opioids for pain management.

The U.S. has reached a tipping point in the opioid epidemic, with studies showing more than half of pain sufferers turning to pills and other unproven methods for relief. Opioids are often prescribed to treat back pain, neck pain, and degenerative joint disease, but are not the only option patients have. Use of prescription opioids to mask pain is a risky, short-term solution that leads to powerful addiction and will never provide sufferers with long-term relief. Recommended as a safe alternative to opioids for pain management by both the CDC and the Surgeon General, physical therapy can help patients work through their condition and get better.

Private practitioners have unique access to the right resources to help patients choose physical therapy to manage pain without the risks and side effects of opioids. These physical therapists rely on outcomes based evidence to treat pain and help patients increase strength, flexibility, and improve mobility. Their main focus is to fix the dysfunction permanently and give patients the tools to independently address dysfunction throughout their lifetime.

Physical therapists use a multidisciplinary approach to develop an individualized plan of care that helps those in pain break out of an ineffective pain medication cycle. Private practice PTs are prepared to provide high-quality care in a cost-effective manner, and urge the public to consider their services to manage pain without the risks of opioids.